5 Homemaking Tips for the Stressed Out or New Wife ~ The Proverbs 31 Woman: A Closer Look Part 4

It has been a hot minute since I have written a post in this series!! If you missed any of the other posts, just CLICK HERE to catch up! 🙂

Looking at the next verse of Proverbs 31, we see a new, refreshing truth about the woman being discussed…. she is the one who took care of her family and her household.

I struggled at “wifing” at first… I did. To be real, there were a TON of things about taking care of a house that I didn’t know how to do and felt COMPLETELY overwhelmed by. But there is something so sweet about being the woman of the home that I just love. Whether you are a stay at home wife/mom or a working girl, you ARE the woman of your home! I think what we can glean from our girl in this verse is that she didn’t let the responsibilities that she had outside the home distract from her responsibilities in the home. We see that she rose early, planned, and took care of her family and her servants. She didn’t neglect her responsibilities to her family and her home.

So today, I’m sharing 5 Homemaking Tips that have helped me to really embrace and love taking care of my little house and my sweet husband in my own little attempt to be more Proverbs 31-esque! haha.

Tip #1: Find Go-To Recipes for events!

Okay, so one of the things that STRESSED ME OUT when we first got married was going to things like potlucks or even friends houses and being asked to bring something. When I lived alone and went over to a girlfriend’s house, we basically had wine and cheese every single time, so there wasn’t hardly ever “cooking” involved. That changes when you get married…boys eat ALOT! haha. So one thing that REALLY helped me was trying different recipes and finding a few that my husband liked and now, I usually ALWAYS bring one of those!

I have a few side dishes, a dessert, a drink recipe, a breakfast, and I also have a go-to soup and salad! Having some go to recipes has been a LIFE-SAVER for my stress levels when we’re asked to bring a dish. Now, I have made these enough that I feel very comfortable making them, I know my hubby likes them so he at least eats them and enjoys them even if no one else does, and I don’t freak out as much when I’m trying to figure out what to bring! Sooo…experiment on your husband or family until you have a few tried and true recipes that you love and feel comfortable taking with you somewhere. I promise that your Hubs probably won’t mind being your guinea pig for this 😉

This being said, you can also always provide veggie trays, fruits, meats & cheeses, chips and dips like hummus or salsa, or just buy something if you’re in a hurry! Don’t be ashamed about that either!

Tip #2: Create a cleaning schedule for yourself.

This is an area that I STRUGGLED in, I won’t lie. I had NO idea how to clean and take care of a house without feeling completely overwhelmed. My little apartment I lived in before getting married just didn’t require too terribly much maitenence. When we first got married, I just didn’t clean until I needed to, then I felt completely overwhelemed!

So figure out how you work and make yourself a little schedule to keep up with your cleaning! For me, I shoot to clean something small each day….I find that I do a better job just focusing on one little task each day than lots of tasks on one day. But everyone is different!

Also… if you have never heard of Clean Mama, a friend of mine introduced me to her and I found a TON of helpful resources and tips from her website! I actually bought her book* as well and love it!

Tip #3: Take a day to pick out what recipes you want to make for the week and shop for those ingredients.

When I lived by myself, I literally bought the same thing at the grocery store every time I went and made it work for the week. But I also ate salads or grilled chicken and veggies most nights…not really my Hubby’s thing. haha.

That being said, dinner time also used to STRESS ME OUT! I never felt like I knew what to make or I didn’t have all the ingredients for something last minute…it was just a hot mess. lol. But I finally figured out that if I went through Pinterest or my cookbooks or something about once a week, planned about four or five dinners, and grocery shopped for those specific ingredients, I was wayyyy less stressed when it came to dinner time. I also started telling Hubs, “I’m going to the store tomorrow, does anything sound good for dinner this week?” Lots of times, he’ll suggest things that I never would have thought of that I then could plan and prep for!

Tip #4: Figure out your Hubby’s needs and how you can help him and plan your tasks around that.

Being in the military, my Hubs has specific things he has to wear on certain days. There were MANY times during our first few months of marriage that I would insist he didn’t need to help me with laundry or anything since I wasn’t working, but he would go to get dressed in the morning and be like “Where is this shirt?” or “Do we have any clean underwear?” (not my finest hour…this one made me cry because I felt so bad. haha). He also has a crazy schedule with tons of EARLY mornings and lots of late nights. That being said, lots of times he is out the door at the crack of dawn or coming home in the wee hours of the morning.

After a little bit of floundering in this area (like embarrassingly too much floundering), something I figured out was that if I washed all of his clothes together (and our underwear…haha) on Mondays, he would always have everything clean throughout the week, and I wouldn’t have to be apologizing for him not having what he needed. Win!

Another something I figured out was that one way I could help him have a few less things to worry about in the morning was to send him out the door with breakfast and a packed lunch. Not only did this mean that he didn’t have to worry about these things throughout his day, but it also got me out of bed, allowed us a little time to see each other and talk in the morning, and started my day off serving him. And when he has really late nights, I know to keep our freezer stocked full of easy snacks/pizzas that I can throw into the oven if he’s hungry heading home. Win!

Basically, figure out the best ways that you can serve your husband and then plan your tasks on what will help you make sure that you always have those things done for him!

Tip #5: Figure out an evening routine that helps you feel like your house is cozy.

I love being at home so much more when it feels cozy. Don’t you?! So figure out a few things that help you feel this way and create a little routine where your home is relaxing and inviting each evening!

For me, this is picking up clutter in our living room, turning on lamps, fluffing the pillows, and starting some sort of something to make the room smell good! I feel SO much better when my Hubby walks in the door when I take the time in the afternoon to do this (lots of times I just do it when he calls and says he is heading home from work), and it also helps me relax in the evenings because I’m not worried about the house being messy or feeling like I should clean or anything in the evening.

This will be different for everyone, so figure out you and your Hubby’s preferences and cozy it up!

The Proverbs 31 Woman was indeed many things, but she didn’t neglect her home! And I by no means have this who “wifing” thing down yet…I’m only two years in. BUT making these few little changes in the midst of my floundering have helped me feel a little more successful in the wife department and feel like I’m doing my job just a little bit better! If you’re a stressed out wife or a new wife feeling overwhelmed, I hope that these little tips help you too!

I would love your tips too- what’s something that helps you make being a wife a little bit easier?!

Post navigation

MEET TAYLOR

Hi! I’m Taylor, a former dance teacher turned stay-at-home military wifey! Jesus is my Savior and my Hubby is my best friend. I love a bold lipstick, dressing up, and messy hair, but I almost can’t make it through a day without a cup of coffee or a little bit of chocolate! My heart for Finding the Fancy is that I can inspire, encourage, and help you find a little more “fancy” in all its forms in your life!

I hope you’ll grab a few of my FREE downlaods below & subscribe to my newsletter to get a little fancy delivered to your Inbox!